Song of the Broad-Axe

Walt Whitman

1 Weapon shapely, naked, wan, Head from the mother's bowels drawn, Wooded flesh and metal bone, limb only one and lip only one, Gray-blue leaf by red-heat grown, helve produced from a little seed sown, Resting the grass amid and upon, o be lean'd and to lean on! "trong shapes and attributes of strong shapes, masculine trades, sights and sounds! #ong varied train of an emblem, dabs of music, $ingers of the organist skipping staccato over the keys of the great organ!

% Welcome are all earth's lands, each for its kind, Welcome are lands of pine and oak, Welcome are lands of the lemon and fig, Welcome are lands of gold, Welcome are lands of wheat and mai&e, welcome those of the grape, Welcome are lands of sugar and rice, Welcome the cotton-lands, welcome those of the white potato and sweet potato, Welcome are mountains, flats, sands, forests, prairies, Welcome the rich borders of rivers, table-lands, openings, Welcome the measureless gra&ing-lands, welcome the teeming soil of orchards, fla', honey, hemp( Welcome )ust as much the other more hard-faced lands,

#ands rich as lands of gold or wheat and fruit lands, #ands of mines, lands of the manly and rugged ores, #ands of coal, copper, lead, tin, &inc, #ands of iron--lands of the make of the a'e!

* he log at the wood-pile, the a'e supported by it, he sylvan hut, the vine over the doorway, the space clear'd for garden, he irregular tapping of rain down on the leaves after the storm is lull'd, he walling and moaning at intervals, the thought of the sea, he thought of ships struck in the storm and put on their beam ends, and the cutting away of masts, he sentiment of the huge timbers of old-fashion'd houses and barns, he remember'd print or narrative, the voyage at a venture of men, families, goods, he disembarkation, the founding of a new city, he voyage of those who sought a +ew ,ngland and found it, the outset anywhere, he settlements of the -rkansas, .olorado, /ttawa, Willamette, he slow progress, the scant fare, the a'e, rifle, saddle-bags( he beauty of all adventurous and daring persons, he beauty of wood-boys and wood-men with their clear untrimm'd faces, he beauty of independence, departure, actions that rely on themselves, he -merican contempt for statutes and ceremonies, the boundless impatience of restraint, he loose drift of character, the inkling through random types, the solidification( he butcher in the slaughter-house, the hands aboard schooners and sloops, the raftsman, the pioneer, #umbermen in their winter camp, daybreak in the woods, stripes of snow on the limbs of trees, the occasional snapping, he glad clear sound of one's own voice, the merry song, the natural life of the woods, the strong day's work,

he bla&ing fire at night, the sweet taste of supper, the talk, the bed of hemlock-boughs and the bear-skin( he house-builder at work in cities or anywhere, he preparatory )ointing, s0uaring, sawing, mortising, he hoist-up of beams, the push of them in their places, laying them regular, "etting the studs by their tenons in the mortises according as they were prepared, he blows of mallets and hammers, the attitudes of the men, their curv'd limbs, 1ending, standing, astride the beams, driving in pins, holding on by posts and braces, he hook'd arm over the plate, the other arm wielding the a'e, he floor-men forcing the planks close to be nail'd, heir postures bringing their weapons downward on the bearers, he echoes resounding through the vacant building2 he huge storehouse carried up in the city well under way, he si' framing-men, two in the middle and two at each end, carefully bearing on their shoulders a heavy stick for a cross-beam, he crowded line of masons with trowels in their right hands rapidly laying the long side-wall, two hundred feet from front to rear, he fle'ible rise and fall of backs, the continual click of the trowels striking the bricks, he bricks one after another each laid so workmanlike in its place, and set with a knock of the trowelhandle, he piles of materials, the mortar on the mortar-boards, and the steady replenishing by the hod-men( "par-makers in the spar-yard, the swarming row of well-grown apprentices, he swing of their a'es on the s0uare-hew'd log shaping it toward the shape of a mast, he brisk short crackle of the steel driven slantingly into the pine, he butter-color'd chips flying off in great flakes and slivers, he limber motion of brawny young arms and hips in easy costumes, he constructor of wharves, bridges, piers, bulk-heads, floats, stays against the sea( he city fireman, the fire that suddenly bursts forth in the close-pack'd s0uare, he arriving engines, the hoarse shouts, the nimble stepping and daring,

he strong command through the fire-trumpets, the falling in line, the rise and fall of the arms forcing the water, he slender, spasmic, blue-white )ets, the bringing to bear of the hooks and ladders and their e'ecution, he crash and cut away of connecting wood-work, or through floors if the fire smoulders under them, he crowd with their lit faces watching, the glare and dense shadows( he forger at his forge-furnace and the user of iron after him, he maker of the a'e large and small, and the welder and temperer, he chooser breathing his breath on the cold steel and trying the edge with his thumb, he one who clean-shapes the handle and sets it firmly in the socket( he shadowy processions of the portraits of the past users also, he primal patient mechanics, the architects and engineers, he far-off -ssyrian edifice and 3i&ra edifice, he Roman lictors preceding the consuls, he anti0ue ,uropean warrior with his a'e in combat, he uplifted arm, the clatter of blows on the helmeted head, he death-howl, the limpsy tumbling body, the rush of friend and foe thither, he siege of revolted lieges determin'd for liberty, he summons to surrender, the battering at castle gates, the truce and parley, he sack of an old city in its time, he bursting in of mercenaries and bigots tumultuously and disorderly, Roar, flames, blood, drunkenness, madness, Goods freely rifled from houses and temples, screams of women in the gripe of brigands, .raft and thievery of camp-followers, men running, old persons despairing, he hell of war, the cruelties of creeds, he list of all e'ecutive deeds and words )ust or un)ust, he power of personality )ust or un)ust!

4 3uscle and pluck forever5 What invigorates life invigorates death, -nd the dead advance as much as the living advance, -nd the future is no more uncertain than the present, $or the roughness of the earth and of man encloses as much as the delicatesse of the earth and of man, -nd nothing endures but personal 0ualities!

What do you think endures6 7o you think a great city endures6 /r a teeming manufacturing state6 or a prepared constitution6 or the best built steamships6 /r hotels of granite and iron6 or any chef-d'oeuvres of engineering, forts, armaments6

-way5 these are not to be cherish'd for themselves, hey fill their hour, the dancers dance, the musicians play for them, he show passes, all does well enough of course, -ll does very well till one flash of defiance!

- great city is that which has the greatest men and women, 8f it be a few ragged huts it is still the greatest city in the whole world!

9 he place where a great city stands is not the place of stretch'd wharves, docks, manufactures, deposits of produce merely, +or the place of ceaseless salutes of new-comers or the anchor-lifters of the departing, +or the place of the tallest and costliest buildings or shops selling goods from the rest of the earth,

+or the place of the best libraries and schools, nor the place where money is plentiest, +or the place of the most numerous population!

Where the city stands with the brawniest breed of orators and bards, Where the city stands that is belov'd by these, and loves them in return and understands them, Where no monuments e'ist to heroes but in the common words and deeds, Where thrift is in its place, and prudence is in its place, Where the men and women think lightly of the laws, Where the slave ceases, and the master of slaves ceases, Where the populace rise at once against the never-ending audacity of elected persons, Where fierce men and women pour forth as the sea to the whistle of death pours its sweeping and unript waves, Where outside authority enters always after the precedence of inside authority, Where the citi&en is always the head and ideal, and :resident, 3ayor, Governor and what not, are agents for pay, Where children are taught to be laws to themselves, and to depend on themselves, Where e0uanimity is illustrated in affairs, Where speculations on the soul are encouraged, Where women walk in public processions in the streets the same as the men, Where they enter the public assembly and take places the same as the men( Where the city of the faithfulest friends stands, Where the city of the cleanliness of the se'es stands, Where the city of the healthiest fathers stands, Where the city of the best-bodied mothers stands, here the great city stands!

How beggarly appear arguments before a defiant deed5 How the floridness of the materials of cities shrivels before a man's or woman's look5

-ll waits or goes by default till a strong being appears( - strong being is the proof of the race and of the ability of the universe, When he or she appears materials are overaw'd, he dispute on the soul stops, he old customs and phrases are confronted, turn'd back, or laid away!

What is your money-making now6 what can it do now6 What is your respectability now6 What are your theology, tuition, society, traditions, statute-books, now6 Where are your )ibes of being now6 Where are your cavils about the soul now6

< - sterile landscape covers the ore, there is as good as the best for all the forbidding appearance, here is the mine, there are the miners, he forge-furnace is there, the melt is accomplish'd, the hammersmen are at hand with their tongs and hammers, What always served and always serves is at hand!

han this nothing has better served, it has served all, "erved the fluent-tongued and subtle-sensed Greek, and long ere the Greek, "erved in building the buildings that last longer than any, "erved the Hebrew, the :ersian, the most ancient Hindustanee,

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"erved the mound-raiser on the 3ississippi, served those whose relics remain in .entral -merica, "erved -lbic temples in woods or on plains, with unhewn pillars and the druids, "erved the artificial clefts, vast, high, silent, on the snow-cover'd hills of "candinavia, "erved those who time out of mind made on the granite walls rough sketches of the sun, moon, stars, ships, ocean waves, "erved the paths of the irruptions of the Goths, served the pastoral tribes and nomads, "erved the long distant =elt, served the hardy pirates of the 1altic, "erved before any of those the venerable and harmless men of ,thiopia, "erved the making of helms for the galleys of pleasure and the making of those for war, "erved all great works on land and all great works on the sea, $or the mediaeval ages and before the mediaeval ages, "erved not the living only then as now, but served the dead!

> 8 see the ,uropean headsman, He stands mask'd, clothed in red, with huge legs and strong naked arms, -nd leans on a ponderous a'e!

?Whom have you slaughter'd lately ,uropean headsman6 Whose is that blood upon you so wet and sticky6@

8 see the clear sunsets of the martyrs, 8 see from the scaffolds the descending ghosts, Ghosts of dead lords, uncrown'd ladies, impeach'd ministers, re)ected kings, Rivals, traitors, poisoners, disgraced chieftains and the rest!

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8 see those who in any land have died for the good cause, he seed is spare, nevertheless the crop shall never run out, ?3ind you / foreign kings, / priests, the crop shall never run out!@

8 see the blood wash'd entirely away from the a'e, 1oth blade and helve are clean, hey spirt no more the blood of ,uropean nobles, they clasp no more the necks of 0ueens!

8 see the headsman withdraw and become useless, 8 see the scaffold untrodden and mouldy, 8 see no longer any a'e upon it, 8 see the mighty and friendly emblem of the power of my own race, the newest, largest race!

A ?-merica5 8 do not vaunt my love for you, 8 have what 8 have!@

he a'e leaps5 he solid forest gives fluid utterances, hey tumble forth, they rise and form, Hut, tent, landing, survey, $lail, plough, pick, crowbar, spade, "hingle, rail, prop, wainscot, lamb, lath, panel, gable, .itadel, ceiling, saloon, academy, organ, e'hibition-house, library, .ornice, trellis, pilaster, balcony, window, turret, porch, Hoe, rake, pitchfork, pencil, wagon, staff, saw, )ack-plane, mallet, wedge, rounce, .hair, tub, hoop, table, wicket, vane, sash, floor, Work-bo', chest, string'd instrument, boat, frame, and what not,

.apitols of "tates, and capitol of the nation of "tates, #ong stately rows in avenues, hospitals for orphans or for the poor or sick, 3anhattan steamboats and clippers taking the measure of all seas!

he shapes arise5 "hapes of the using of a'es anyhow, and the users and all that neighbors them, .utters down of wood and haulers of it to the :enobscot or =enebec, 7wellers in cabins among the .alifornian mountains or by the little lakes, or on the .olumbia, 7wellers south on the banks of the Gila or Rio Grande, friendly gatherings, the characters and fun, 7wellers along the "t! #awrence, or north in =anada, or down by the Bellowstone, dwellers on coasts and off coasts, "eal-fishers, whalers, arctic seamen breaking passages through the ice!

he shapes arise5 "hapes of factories, arsenals, foundries, markets, "hapes of the two-threaded tracks of railroads, "hapes of the sleepers of bridges, vast frameworks, girders, arches, "hapes of the fleets of barges, tows, lake and canal craft, river craft, "hip-yards and dry-docks along the ,astern and Western seas, and in many a bay and by-place, he live-oak kelsons, the pine planks, the spars, the hackmatack-roots for knees, he ships themselves on their ways, the tiers of scaffolds, the workmen busy outside and inside, he tools lying around, the great auger and little auger, the ad&e, bolt, line, s0uare, gouge, and bead-plane!

1C he shapes arise5 he shape measur'd, saw'd, )ack'd, )oin'd, stain'd,

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he coffin-shape for the dead to lie within in his shroud, he shape got out in posts, in the bedstead posts, in the posts of the bride's bed, he shape of the little trough, the shape of the rockers beneath, the shape of the babe's cradle, he shape of the floor-planks, the floor-planks for dancers' feet, he shape of the planks of the family home, the home of the friendly parents and children, he shape of the roof of the home of the happy young man and woman, the roof over the well-married young man and woman, he roof over the supper )oyously cook'd by the chaste wife, and )oyously eaten by the chaste husband, content after his day's work!

he shapes arise5 he shape of the prisoner's place in the court-room, and of him or her seated in the place, he shape of the li0uor-bar lean'd against by the young rum-drinker and the old rum-drinker, he shape of the shamed and angry stairs trod by sneaking foot-steps, he shape of the sly settee, and the adulterous unwholesome couple, he shape of the gambling-board with its devilish winnings and losings, he shape of the step-ladder for the convicted and sentenced murderer, the murderer with haggard face and pinion'd arms, he sheriff at hand with his deputies, the silent and white-lipp'd crowd, the dangling of the rope!

he shapes arise5 "hapes of doors giving many e'its and entrances, he door passing the dissever'd friend flush'd and in haste, he door that admits good news and bad news, he door whence the son left home confident and puff'd up, he door he enter'd again from a long and scandalous absence, diseas'd, broken down, without innocence, without means!

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11 Her shape arises, "he less guarded than ever, yet more guarded than ever, he gross and soil'd she moves among do not make her gross and soil'd, "he knows the thoughts as she passes, nothing is conceal'd from her, "he is none the less considerate or friendly therefor, "he is the best belov'd, it is without e'ception, she has no reason to fear and she does not fear, /aths, 0uarrels, hiccupp'd songs, smutty e'pressions, are idle to her as she passes, "he is silent, she is possess'd of herself, they do not offend her, "he receives them as the laws of +ature receive them, she is strong, "he too is a law of +ature--there is no law stronger than she is!

1% he main shapes arise5 "hapes of 7emocracy total, result of centuries, "hapes ever pro)ecting other shapes, "hapes of turbulent manly cities, "hapes of the friends and home-givers of the whole earth, "hapes bracing the earth and braced with the whole earth!

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